This blog will serve as a running critique of industrial agriculture, a clearinghouse for info on sustainable farming, and a working manifesto for a liberation politics based on food.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Monsanto to Bitter Greens: "Cease" and Desist

Yesterday the farming project I work for, Maverick Farms, received the following extraordinary e-mail. I don't have time to respond now, as we're scrambling to put on our monthly farm dinner. Given Monsanto's record of suing farmers, I suppose I should stifle guffaws and take it seriously. For now, though, I'll delight in having tweaked a transnational corporation valued in the marketplace at a cool $17 billion. Here's the letter. I will respond when I get a chance. (Readers should also note that I'm putting the finishing touches on a post about the current oil crunch.)

Dear Mr. Philpott,I am the trademark and copyright attorney for Monsanto Company, the owner of the Roundup Ready(R) trademark. The attached link is to the Bitter Greens Journal which features the name "Roundup, ready" as the title of one of its features. Roundup Ready(R) is a well known trademark which is registered by Monsanto not only in the United States, but in many countries throughout the word [sic]. As you have pointed out in the column, Roundup Ready(R) is famous in the agricultural industry.

While you have stated in your column that you chose the name "Roundup, ready" in honor of Monsanto's famed line of seeds, we must object to this use and request that you change the name for the following reasons:

1) You are using our trademark without our consent. This use of the term could cause your readers to think that your journal is in some way sponsored by Monsanto or that Monsanto supports the positions set out in your journal.

2) You are using our trademark in an incorrect manner (with a comma and in a way that genericizes the mark). This weakens our trademark rights.

I would appreciate your confirmation that you will change the name of this column and cease using "Roundup, ready" or any form of our trademark as the name of a feature or in an incorrect manner in your journal. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.

104 Comments:

How flattering that you should draw the attention of this behmoth! I wonder, do they read your blog often? Does Monstanto have a staffer that looks on blogs and other alternative media for infringers? How about Pesticide Ready for your column--I love the column btw!

A good friend and colleague who attended a meeting regarding the use of Roundup™ on the banks of Houston's bayous once saw a Monsanto™ salesperson drink a whole glass of Roundup™ to prove that it was safe™. My friend thought the man was crazy™, and both of us wonder if he is still alive™.

Maybe you could change the title of your occasional column to "Bound up, ready"; it would be a good description of consumers of products grown with Roundup™, and it would almost certainly qualify as parody for trademark purposes.

Thanks for your excellent blog. I am a mere consumer of organic agricultural products, but I learn a great deal from your posts.

Scheduled for theatrical release at NYC's Film Forum on September 14, "The Future of Food" documents the rise of genetic modification in the food industry. While it is a much more sober and a much more informative work than "Roger and Me," both films are focused on corporate villains: General Motors in one case and Monsanto in the other. Rather than relying on a jocular narrator like Moore, "The Future of Food" calls upon some of the most respected authorities in the field. One of them is Dr. Ignacio Chapela, a Berkeley professor who won a tenure battle after criticizing the university's ties to the biotechnology industry. While this case did not receive the same media attention as moves against Ward Churchill or the Middle Eastern Languages and Culture Department at Columbia University, the stakes were just as high if not higher.

Besides interviewing scientists and policy experts, it also allows farmers themselves to speak out against Monsanto. When Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser's field was accidentally strewn with patented Monsanto canola seeds, he was sued by the multinational corporation for stealing intellectual property as if he were downloading music from Kazaa! When Monsanto offered to settle out of court with Schmeiser, he decided to fight them. Unfortunately, the Canadian Supreme Court decided in Monsanto's favor since all branches of government tend to be favorable to giant corporations.

Now mind you, I am not a lawyer, but if I'm understanding the text of that email as it is written, it sounds like you could use the properly formatted form of Monsanto's precious trademark--say, as part of a title such as "Roundup Ready(R) Sucks!"--and they wouldn't have any beef with you. :-) Good luck, and keep doing what you're doing--it's obviously having an effect.

I'm a little confused - I thought this cheesy website was run by the multi-billion dollar Mustardo corporation, but now I see that I cannot find any information about "Bound up Betty" here. How am I ever going to tell the difference? Darn it, I'm not even going to buy from Mustardo now, and I don't care if they loose my business. I'm going to buy everything from Blacklands-Stranger now!

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